The eunuch Liu Chao took Zhang Wen into the Donghua Gate, crossed the Wang'en Bridge, walked all the way to the west, and soon saw the Wenhua Gate, which was the Wenhua Palace. It stands to reason that the emperor should summon the minister in the Wenhua Palace, Zhang Wen looked at the Wenhua Palace, but at this time Liu Chao said: "Not here, the emperor is in the Heart Cultivation Palace." ”

Zhang Wen was a little dizzy when he heard this, and when he went to the Heart Cultivation Hall from the Donghua Gate, he had to wear most of the Forbidden City.

Several eunuchs walked north together, and walked for a long time before they reached Jingyun Gate. Walking so far in one breath, Liu Chao, who was fatter, was out of breath and couldn't speak. Zhang Wen is young, healthy, and has no problem walking. He glanced up at the yellow glazed tile doorway, and felt a kind of excitement in his heart. Because the inside of Jingyun Gate is where the harem is located, so Jingyun Gate is also called the "forbidden door", and the ministers of the foreign dynasty are strictly forbidden to trespass, and they are only allowed to stop twenty steps away from the steps outside the door. Zhu Youxiao, the emperor, was casual, and directly asked the minister to go inside to see him.

Enter from Jingyun Gate, go west, pass the square in front of the Qianqing Palace, walk for a while, and arrive at the front of the Imperial Dining Gate, which is the Palace of Nourishing Heart. Liu Chao gasped for a while and said, "Master Zhang, you wait here, don't walk around, let's go in and go back." ”

Zhang Wen arched his hand and said, "Okay." ”

Liu Chao entered through the door, and after a long time, he came out and said, "The emperor told Master Zhang to go in, let's go." After hearing this, Zhang Wen hurriedly walked in cautiously, not daring to look around.

Originally, Zhang Wen felt that it was already very over-the-top to come to the Heart Cultivation Palace, but unexpectedly, Liu Chao took him through the open room in front of him and entered the apse directly through the small door of the hall. The more Zhang Wen walked, the more nervous he became, you must know that the emperor often rests and sleeps in the apse of this heart cultivation hall, and there are often concubines who sleep here, and the east and west ear rooms are even the special duty rooms for the harem concubines to wait for the bed. In the harem, there can only be an adult man named the emperor, but today Zhang Wen was brought into this place, and he couldn't help but feel more and more worried.

Sure enough, when I walked to the gate of the palace with the inscription "Hanchun Room", I met a concubine dressed in palace clothes, and there were three or four palace maids following her. When Zhang Wen saw the figure, he hurriedly didn't squint, he didn't dare to stare at the emperor's woman in public, and he didn't even see the appearance of the concubine clearly, he only felt that his steps were light.

When the concubine saw someone coming, she turned her head to look, and was immediately attracted by the red official robe worn by Zhang Wen, and then saw a handful of beard in the middle of Zhang Wenren, and the concubine was surprised.

"Who is he and how did he get in?"

Liu Chaodao: "It was Yushi Zhang who asked, and the emperor asked the slave maid to bring in to face the saint." ”

Zhang Wen heard the concubine's voice like a yellow warbler coming out of the valley, and couldn't help but glance up. When the concubine saw that Zhang Wensheng had clear eyebrows and bright teeth, she was looking at herself, and her little face suddenly became hot and red, which was directly connected to the root of her ears. The concubine realized that her face was hot, and she was afraid that she would be seen by others, so she hurriedly turned around and left. After Zhang Wen and the others went in, the concubine couldn't bear it anymore and looked back again.

After entering the door, Zhang Wen saw Zhu Youzheng sitting in front of a desk, carving some gadgets. Zhu Youxiao had a pale face and sickly white, and was wearing a regular uniform, not even a hat. Zhang Wen hurriedly knelt on the ground and shouted: "Weichen Zhang Wen, long live my emperor." ”

Zhu Youxiao beckoned without looking back, and said, "Get up." ”

"Long live thanks." Zhang Wen answered, and then he slowly got up, bowed and stood in front of him, and was careful in his heart. In fact, Zhu Youxiao is just a teenager and a half-year-old, but he is the emperor, so everyone can't treat him as an ordinary kid, and they can't do it in their hearts.

Zhu Youxiao didn't stop in his hand, he was busy carving the wooden figure in his hand, and after Zhang Wen stood for a long time, Zhu Youxiao put down the carving knife and the piece of wood, glanced at Zhang Wen, and was busy wiping his hands and face and drinking tea.

"What is it like to fight in Liaodong, is it fun?"

Zhu Youxiao said this, Zhang Wen was stunned, and he couldn't figure out whether Zhu Youxiao was young and unknowledgeable, or if he was deliberately saying this, he was only a teenager, but Zhang Wen couldn't treat him as a teenager.

Just like a person who lost his parents early, he has a huge amount of money, and he has to beware of other people's voyeurism at any time. Zhang Wen then bowed down and said carefully: "Back to the emperor, most of the time it's not fun. Heaven can freeze off ears, and when a war starts, there are dead, orphans, and starvation everywhere. ”

At this time, a person walked in outside the door, Zhang Wen looked sideways, and saw that it was Wei Zhongxian. Wei Zhongxian walked in with his back bent and fell to his knees with a thud, where is his usual arrogance?

"Emperor, something is wrong." Wei Zhongxian stammered. ”

"What's wrong?"

Wei Zhongxian cried with a sad face, handed over a fold, and said: "Just now, the celebrant received a side report that Jian Yu destroyed the border wall from Fushun Pass and besieged Shenyang; He also opened the city gate with the Mongols as the inner director and captured Shenyang. Governor Yuan Yingtai transferred reinforcements from all directions, lost 100,000 soldiers, and died by self-immolation......"

Zhang Wen was silent when he heard this, realizing that the bloodshed in Liaodong would definitely trigger the party dispute, and the Jingshi would also bleed, so he had to sneak out as soon as possible. Zhu Youxiao was out of proportion, his face was panicked, he picked up the fold and opened it to look at it, and scolded: "Who wrote the fold, this kind of thing still has to drop the book bag, can't it be written simply?" Lee Yong-jeong, Lee Yong-jung......"

Liu Chao hurriedly said: "Emperor, the slave will call him immediately." ”

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhang Wen, coughed a few times, and then gasped and said, "Zhang Wen, you, didn't you destroy the main force of Jianyu in Qinghe Fort?" Why is it that it has only been less than a few months, and it has come again? ”

Zhang asked: "......"

At this time, Wei Zhongxian gritted his teeth, anyway, the emperor was already unhappy, it was better to shake out the bad news, and said tremblingly: "There is also an urgent report, it is from Sichuan, Sichuan Yongning Datusi Chongming has 100,000 troops, besieging Chengdu, Sichuan governor Xu Keqiu led 3,000 officers and soldiers to resist the enemy, 10 days of bloody battle, Xu Keqiu followed more than 20 officials, 3,000 soldiers died in battle, Chengdu fell, the rebels entered Qingyang Palace, and the king of Shu was martyred...... Eight hundred miles to report to the Beijing Division, only arrived today. ”

Zhu Youxiao's face was as bloodless as a blank piece of paper, there were military disasters on both sides of the north and south, and he was defeated one after another, he finally realized that this throne was not very secure, his fingers were trembling slightly, and he said angrily: "What's going on in Sichuan, there are only 3,000 people in one province?" ”

Wei Zhongxian said: "The main force of the Sichuan army of 40,000 has been transferred to Liaodong last year...... The Emperor...... and Guizhou also had an accident. ”

"Say it all at once."

"Guizhou Shuixi Tusi An Bangyan rebelled, even under more than a dozen states and counties, Tusi from all over the country responded, the general soldier Zhang Yanfang and 20,000 people were killed in battle, and the governor Li Lu and the governor Shi Yongan led a lone army to defend Guiyang, waiting for the imperial court to rescue...... There was a great drought in Fujian, the hungry people had no food, and the White Lotus Sect took the opportunity to start an incident, supporting tens of thousands of soldiers, and the governor of Fujian died, and no one could be determined. ”

The beacons are on all sides, the Ming Dynasty is really mildew, and it comes at one time, and this year, the first year of the Apocalypse, is really a good start. Maybe the affairs of those places in Fujian have already arrived in Beijing, but everyone is concerned about doing other things, such as party disputes, so they don't pass on the little things about the White Lotus Sect.

Zhu Youxiao said coldly: "Finished? ”

"Just these four copies, the celebrant only received them today, and I didn't know that such a thing happened yesterday."

After Wei Zhongxian finished speaking, he fell to the ground and didn't dare to get up, Zhu Youxiao didn't speak, he sat there and stretched his legs, stunned. At this time, the celebrant and eunuch Li Yongzhen walked in, knelt on the ground, and said, "The slave and maid knock to see the emperor." The ministers have already arrived in the cabinet of Wenyuan Pavilion, does the emperor want to meet with the ministers? ”

Zhu Youxiao coughed violently, ignoring Li Yongzhen, and no one dared to go up to wait for Zhu Youxiao, leaving him alone to cough.

"Who recommended Yuan Yingtai in the first place?"

Something so big happened, Zhu Youxiao didn't just pass out like some people, he just coughed, and his other performance was normal, and he quickly found the point. There was nothing good on all sides, and Zhu Youxiao realized that Liaodong was the most serious.

Wei Zhongxian said: "Shoufu, Liu Yixian, Zuo Guangdou, Yang Lian and other ministers of the DPRK and China have recommended. ”

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhang Wen again, shot a cold light, and said, "Zhang Wen, you tell me the truth, is the battle of Qinghe Fort Yuan Yingtai's arrangement?" He gave you the order? ”

Zhang asked and said in a deep voice: "At that time, the minister was not in the governor's office, and I don't know if Lord Yuan gave an order." But...... When the minister returned to Shenyang, Lord Yuan said a word to the minister, and Lord Yuan said: Although the court will cure the old man's sins, the old man is very pleased to be able to keep Liaodong. ”

Zhu Youxiao snorted coldly after hearing this, and said, "Li Yongzhen, you immediately notify the minister and wait at Zuo Shunmen, where you will hold a temporary meeting." ”

"The slave obeys."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhang and asked, "You also go to Zuo Shunmen." Come on, I want to change my clothes. ”

After Zhang asked for thanksgiving, he and Liu Chao withdrew from the Heart Cultivation Palace, and just walked to the door, but saw a few people behind the windows, all of them were women, as if they were peeking at Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen hurriedly lowered his head, walked out of the imperial dining door quickly, and went straight to Zuoshun Gate to see the court meeting.

Zuoshun Gate is facing Donghua Gate, which is a little far away from the Qianqing Palace. By the time Zhang Wen arrived at Zuoshunmen, a group of ministers had already gathered inside, divided into two piles, and were discussing. Shoufu Ye Xianggao was at the front, the cabinet ministers and some senior officials were gathered around, and in the back left, there was a group of people surrounding Cui Chengxiu, the new secretary of the military department, they were: Eunuch Party.

After Zhang Wen understood, he silently walked to the back of the crowd on the eunuch side and stood behind. Cui Chengxiu seemed to have become the leader of the eunuch court, and was talking to everyone, when he saw Zhang Wen coming, he nodded to Zhang Wen, and continued to speak, Zhang Wen also hurriedly made a move. Ying Tianfu Yin and Ji Fu patrolled Ni Wenhuan to help Zhang Wen last time, and at this time he whispered: "Lord Zhang is also here." Zhang Wen also whispered a greeting, which was regarded as a greeting and taking care of each other.

After about half an hour, I heard a eunuch shouting, "The emperor has arrived." ”

The two groups of people were scattered as birds and beasts, scattered and separated, and each stood in a row according to its position. Zhu Youxiao boarded the dragon couch in a dragon robe, and after the whip and the official praise of Honglu Temple entered the class, the ministers knelt on the ground and bowed three times. The emperor said that he was flat, and everyone got up.

The official of Honglu Temple sang: "Perform things." ”

The underground is very quiet, everyone seems to be brewing, at this time Zhu Youxiao said: "Shoufu is old, it is not suitable to stand for a long time, give sit." ”

Ye Xianggao, who was full of righteousness, knelt down with a handful of snot and tears, and said, "Old minister...... The old minister is sorry for the emperor. ”

"Hurry up."

Seeing this, the officials of the Donglin Party all stared angrily at Wei Zhongxian on the side of the collapse, as if to say: What a good emperor, let this guy be ruined, don't kill you as a castrate, swear not to be a man! If vision can kill, Wei Zhongxian has been killed I don't know how many times.

Ye Xianggao pondered for a moment, and was about to stand up to do something, when Zhu Youxiao stretched out his hand and made a gesture and said: "Sit down and speak, the country is in danger, Shoufu must pay attention to his body, gather people's hearts and unite as one, in order to overcome this difficulty." ”

"Thank you, Emperor Longen." Ye Xianggao then sat down and said, "The old minister discussed with the cabinet elders and the ministers of the imperial court, and drafted an emergency excerpt. ”

"Tell me." Zhu Youxiao had a headache when he heard the excerpt and it was written by a university scholar, so he asked Ye Xianggao to say it in front of everyone.

Ye Xianggao said: "The matter of Sichuan, the old minister waited for the vote to draw it up...... Zhu Xieyuan, the political envoy of Sichuan, was promoted to the governor, and Long'an, Shizhu and other soldiers were transferred to help, and Yang Yumao was transferred to the Sichuan chief military officer, leading the army into Sichuan, and transferring Jiangxi soldiers and horses into Sichuan. promoted Wang Sanshan to the governor of Guizhou, mobilized soldiers and horses from various towns, and ordered Xu Shifeng, deputy commander-in-chief, and Fan Zhongren, a staff general, to lead reinforcements, which were uniformly controlled and mobilized by Wang Sanshan; Fujian's military strength is empty, adjacent to Zhejiang, and Zhou Qiyuan is promoted to the governor of Zhejiang, preparing for a large army to enter Fujian to suppress cults and help the hungry; Wang Huazhen is the governor of Liaodong, and Xiong Tingbi is the governor of Liaodong...... It's just that there are some ...... in terms of military spending"

As soon as the people on the eunuch side heard it, something was wrong, why were all people from the Donglin Party or people pro-Donglin? At this time, an official in a cyan official robe stood up, and Zhang asked that he didn't know who it was, and the official said: "Lord Shoufu, are all talented people from your party?" Yuan Yingtai was recommended by you, how is it now, can the place east of the Liao River still be saved? ”

Ye Xianggao's brows furrowed when he heard this, and his old face turned red. What kind of small fish and shrimp dare to jump up and criticize Shousuke, the prestige of the cabinet is not as good as before because of party disputes. If it was in the early days of Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli, unless it was the emperor's celebrant who did not approve the red, the meaning of the cabinet would be similar to the holy decree, and who would dare to disobey the cabinet below?

"What kind of official position are you, and you dare to ask Shousuke?! The imperial court has repeatedly issued five orders strictly prohibiting the formation of factions, are you deaf or blind? The bearded Liu Yixiao was in a hurry, and immediately jumped out to defend the cabinet and take the job for Ye Xianggao.

At this time, the petty official may be thrown into the imperial prison by the court rod or thrown into the edict, and Cui Chengxiu, the secretary of the military department, hurriedly came out to speak before the emperor was forced to make an order, and said with a peacemaker look: "Yuanfu, your political strategy has always been to win people's hearts and eliminate party disputes. In terms of employing people, do you also listen to the recommendations of other ministers? It is also easy to convince the public. ”

Ye Xianggao said coldly: "The land of military disasters, thousands of miles away from Beijing, promote the officials on the spot, so as not to delay the business, where can I think about who is my person, who is your person, and who is his person?" Zhu Xieyuan, Wang Sanshan and other old men don't even know what they look like, whose people are they? Who is Xiong Tingbi? Although Wang Huazhen had dealings with the old man in Beijing, he is now in Guangning, so why not promote officials nearby? ”

Cui Chengxiu was short and fat, with a relatively large belly and a round red face, after listening to Ye Xianggao's words, he calmly bowed to a middle-aged red-robed official in the back: "It's Lord Zhou Qiyuan, right?" ”

When Liu Yixiu saw Cui Chengxiu's appearance, he was already furious, and shouted: "Cui Chengxiu, you are so yin and yang, the cabinet is the only one, where are you so twisted and turned?" Why not use Zhou Qiyuan as the governor of Zhejiang? Lord Zhou served as the imperial history of Huguang Road, and Qiyuan rode alone to recruit drama thieves, and even sympathized with the hungry people. After living for two years, he was later appointed as the Shaanxi Patrol Envoy, and his style was very impressive. In this eventful season, such talents are not needed, what kind of people are used, you should recommend a few old men to see! ”

Liu Yixiao is not only impatient, but also has a loud voice, and when he talks down, the eardrums of the people on the left and right are buzzing, and dust seems to fall from the wooden beams on his head.

Cui Chengxiu said: "I recommend Zhang to ask." Zhang asked what was the problem with the annihilation of 30,000 iron cavalry in Jianyu with less than 20,000 troops in Qinghe Fort in Liaodong, and let him go to the White Lotus Sect in Fujian? ”

Liu Yixiao said: "The battle of Qinghe Fort is a matter of Yuan Yingtai's strategy and Liu Ling's command of various departments, there is a bottom file to check, when will it be closed again?" At best, he just patrolled to Qinghe Fort, and the blind cat ran into a dead mouse. ”

Zhang Wen was unhappy after hearing this, but he still settled down, after all, it involved his official position, and he didn't want to recommend himself, otherwise he would be said to be greedy for power.

At this time, Cui Chengxiu said: "Liu Yixiu! You don't talk about drafts, let's just think that the officials of the Donglin faction are responsible for what kind of background file is credible, but the order above, Yuan Yingtai was obviously issued to Zhang Wen, when did Zhang Wen not be patient? ”

Liu Yixiao said angrily: "Zhang Wen interfered with the governor's affairs without authorization, how to count the 60,000 lives of Juniper's subordinates?" ”

"That's the result of Juniper's rash attack on the enemy, what's the matter with others? General Tian, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, found the testimony of the remnants of the juniper army, do you want to take a look? ”

At this time, Ye Xianggao spoke again, he glanced at Zhang Wen, who was silent, and said: "Don't fight, the old man said that the cabinet recommends people, only look at talent and virtue, the old man didn't think of Zhang Wen before, and now the old man also recommends Zhang Wen to preside over the southeast." ”

Ye Xianggao's words came out, including the eunuch party, and many officials who had committed to the eunuch party felt in their hearts that although Ye Xianggao was the leader of the Donglin Party, he was very public-minded.